Still Standing
by Acquerus
Summary: [War of the Worlds 2005] Sarah Freidman and her teenage daughter Claire have lived next door to Ray Ferrier for years, but they hardly know anything about him or his family. One fateful October day, everything will change... [RayOC, RobbieOC]
1. Calm Before The Storm

**Disclaimer:** The original concept for War of the Worlds belongs to H. G. Wells. Additionally, all characters, ideas and situations you recognise from the 2005 film belong to Steven Spielberg and his excellent scriptwriters. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended and no money is being made.

* * *

**Chapter One  
**_Calm Before The Storm  
_

Sarah Freidman stepped off the bus, running her free hand through her short, blonde hair as she crossed the road. In her other hand she was carrying two shopping bags full of groceries. She was on fairly good terms with the bus driver, Buddy, and he had agreed to drop her off at her street, just opposite her house. It was around five in the afternoon and Sarah had just finished work. She was thirty-three and was still working in the same dead-end job she'd had for ten years, as a secretary at a law firm. Recently she had been thinking about quitting and finding some work elsewhere. The pay at the firm was reasonable, but she no longer needed to support her teenage daughter financially. Claire had a weekend job at a clothes store.

At sixteen, Claire was just about old enough to take care of herself. Another couple of years and she would be out of high school. Then, Sarah hoped, they could pack up and move, perhaps north to Boston. They currently lived in Newark, New Jersey. They had lived there since Claire's birth, and both women were getting tired of the area, not to mention the gigantic, ugly (in Sarah's opinion) bridge that crossed the river behind their house.

Sarah glanced up at the giant structure as she reached the sidewalk, blinking against the chilly wind that whipped at her hair and face. As she reached her front door, she noticed a car parked outside the next house. A pregnant woman was standing near it with a dark-haired man. Sarah thought she recognised the couple. They had visited the street a couple of times before, to see Sarah's next-door neighbour, Ray. It was a little rude of Ray to leave his friends standing out in the street, she thought as she let herself into her house. Flicking on the hall light, she called Claire's name and shut the door against the wind.

"I'm in here," came the familiar voice of her daughter.

Claire was in the sitting room watching the television.

"Turn that off," Sarah said, walking past the couch into the kitchen. Their house was small, and the two rooms were adjoined.

When the noise issuing from the set continued, Sarah backtracked a few steps and put her hands on her hips. "Haven't I told you a million times you watch too much television?"

"_Shhh_, mom," Claire said, sliding off the couch onto the floor to get a better look at the screen. "There's weird stuff happening in the Ukraine. It's all over the news."

"What kind of stuff?" Sarah asked, frowning as she returned to the kitchen and started to unpack the shopping.

"Really weird stuff," Claire repeated. "Freak storms, lightning."

Sarah heard the newsreader mention something about EMPs, whatever they were. She tuned out the noise. "Freak storms aren't all that strange, honey," she said, stocking up the refrigerator with orange juice. "It's all that carbon dioxide we're putting into the atmosphere. Global warming. You've studied that in school, right?"

"Sure," came Claire's reply, but she sounded unconvinced.

When Sarah had finished unpacking, she walked into the sitting room and picked up the remote. Ignoring Claire's protests, she switched off the set and placed the remote on the coffee table. "If you want to hear the news," Sarah said, "you can listen to the radio."

"Fine," her daughter said, sounding peeved. Then she said, "Mom, what are EMPs?"

"No idea," Sarah replied truthfully.

Claire stood up. She had dark hair, much darker than her mother's, and she was very pretty. Sarah loathed admitting it, but Claire's father had been a very attractive man. Pity he hadn't had a personality to match his looks. Chris Freidman had abandoned his seventeen-year-old wife and newborn daughter just a year after the wedding. Shamed and cast out by her family and friends, Sarah had fled east to New Jersey with Claire. It still pained her to think about her ex-husband, and the incident had left her incapable of dealing with relationships, particularly romantic ones. Sarah also knew she was much too overprotective of her daughter. Claire put up with it well, but Sarah didn't know how long her daughter's patient tolerance would last.

Claire went upstairs to do some homework, leaving Sarah in the sitting room alone. From outside, there came the sound of squealing tires, and Sarah approached the window, catching sight of her neighbour Ray pulling up in front of his house. Ray was a good-looking guy of around forty. Unfortunately, he was a little too similar to Sarah's ex-husband for her liking. Complacent and irresponsible, Ray seemed like a real asshole, and since Sarah had lived next-door to him for several years, she felt she was qualified to make such a judgement.

She watched Ray talk to the pregnant woman for a moment, then she stepped away from the window. She flopped onto the couch and switched on the television, taking care to keep the volume down so she didn't alert Claire. Sarah could be a little hypocritical about certain things. Television was one of those things.

* * *

Claire rifled through her school bag and swore under her breath. She had left her Chemistry textbook at her friend Madison's house. Claire often went to Madison's house after school. Madison's family had a pool and tennis courts, and Madison's parents didn't care how much television Claire watched, even though it was their house. But Madison's parents were rich, and they didn't have to worry about electricity bills. Claire felt a little guilty for complaining about the television, and she sat down heavily in her computer chair, spinning around absentmindedly.

A thought struck her, and she loaded up the Internet. She typed in "EMP", and got a couple of sites about music and mail ordering. She didn't think the woman on the news had been talking about any of that stuff. Eventually she found a site about nuclear weaponry. According to the Federation of American Scientists, EMP stood for "electromagnetic pulse". That sounded more promising, but she wasn't sure what it meant or how it related to the freak storms that were happening in the Ukraine. After a moment or two she shut the computer down and grabbed her bag.

"Mom," she shouted, thumping down the stairs two at a time. "I'm going to Madison's, okay? I left my Chemistry there."

When she poked her head around the doorframe into the sitting room, her mother was fumbling with the television remote.

"Okay?" Claire repeated, quirking an eyebrow in confusion.

"Sure, honey," Sarah said, setting the remote down on the couch. "Don't be long. Take your cell."

"I got it," Claire called as she exited the house.

The wind was unusually strong, and it buffeted her clothes as she stepped onto the sidewalk. Parked not far away was a dark car, and standing on the lawn of the next house were a couple of people she recognised. Ray Ferrier was their next-door neighbour. He was pretty good-looking for an older guy. The red-haired woman and the man next to her looked familiar - they had visited before. But the two kids that had gotten out of the car were strangers, and Claire studied them curiously as she crossed the street. One was a girl; she looked about nine or ten years old. The other was a guy around Claire's age - a cute one, at that - wearing headphones and a sullen expression.

Claire headed off up the street, glancing back when she reached the corner in time to see the group enter Ray's house. She wondered whether they would be staying with him, and whether she would get a chance to speak to the guy she had seen. She made a note to mention him to Madison, and continued up the sidewalk, both hands thrust deep into her jacket pockets.

* * *

Sarah flicked through the television channels, growing more and more annoyed by the second. The only thing being broadcast was the news. They were reporting the same things over and over - freak lightning in a couple of cities around the world, strange weather, and those goddamned EMPs... Sarah was beginning to wish she knew more about science.

With an impatient sigh, she switched the set off and headed into the kitchen, where she emptied the rubbish bin into a plastic bag. She ventured out into the back yard, where the metal trash cans were kept. Across the fence, in the next garden, Ray and a teenage boy were throwing a baseball back and forth. She did not greet them. She wasn't friendly with Ray - they had never been close neighbours. She vaguely recognised the boy. He was probably Ray's son. Sitting at a table at the end of the yard was a young girl, most likely Ray's daughter. Sarah ignored them, striding across her lawn to the trash cans. She dumped the bag into one of them and placed the lid on it. Then she hurried back to the door, but was stopped by Ray's voice calling her name.

"Mrs, uh, Freidman? Freidman - is that right?" he said, stepping over to the fence with a smile that did not reach his eyes.

"It's Ms," she replied, tucking her hair behind her ear. It was whipping around her face, obscuring her vision.

"Oh, okay," he said, not looking as though he cared very much at all. "I just wanted to ask you not to park your car across my driveway. I noticed you did that today and yesterday. It doesn't help me much in the afternoon when I get home from work, you know?"

Sarah felt like slapping him. He knew perfectly well she didn't have a garage, that her house was smaller than his and the only place she could park was in the street. Okay, so she'd slipped up and parked in front of his driveway by accident. Jesus, she thought, it was a simple mistake to make. He didn't have to mention it in front of his kids, and in such a condescending manner.

"Sure, okay," she replied, her tone cold. "In future I'll try to remember that you're the most important person in the street. Must have slipped my mind before."

Feeling a glow of satisfaction at his annoyed expression, she whirled around and headed back inside, slamming the door hard behind her for good measure.

What an asshole, she thought, cracking open a can of cola. She took a long drink and switched on the radio.

"-- that we're now getting reports of more EMPs in the British cities of London and Birmingham, so we'll go over to --"

Next channel.

"-- advising citizens to stay inside if there's a storm overhead --"

Next.

"-- eighteen lightning strikes in under two minutes, all hitting the same --"

She shut the radio off.

Sarah decided to call Claire and tell her to come home. She didn't want her daughter getting caught in a freak storm. Still holding her can, she walked into the sitting room in search of her cell, just in time to see Ray's Ford Mustang roll out of his driveway and down the street. She thought nothing of it, and began to root around in a drawer.

From outside, she heard two raised voices - one Ray's, the other feminine and high-pitched. She smirked. Ray's son had obviously taken off in the Ford.

That would teach the bastard to complain about her parking.


	2. The Beginning Of The End

**Chapter Two  
**_The Beginning Of The End_

Claire kicked a stone absently as she walked down the high street. She was heading in the direction of Madison's house, which was out in the suburbs. It wouldn't take her long to get there. She had found some gum in her jacket pocket, and was now chewing it to try and stave off hunger. She hadn't eaten since breakfast. The sky above was heavy with cloud, and a few drops of rain hit her face as she crossed an intersection. Her cell phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket, pressing the button to take the call. It was her mother.

"Claire, honey, I want you to come home now, okay?"

Claire frowned and continued to walk.

"Mom," she protested, "I need my Chemistry book. I _told_ you."

"I know, but there are all these reports about lightning... I just think you should come home before we get any of these storms, all right?"

Claire turned around reluctantly. "Okay, but I --"

She broke off, staring at the sky. Above the bridge the clouds were swirling, just like a whirlwind, and for a split second a far-off flash of lightning lit up the sky.

"Claire? Claire, are you all right?" came her mother's voice, loud and insistent.

"Mom," Claire said shakily, "look out the back window."

There was a pause, followed by the sound of the curtains rustling and a sharp intake of breath.

"Come home, Claire, okay? I want you home right now."

Sarah sounded worried. Before Claire could reply, there was a loud noise - it sounded electrical, magnetic, not like thunder at all, and a clearly visible bolt of lightning streaked down from the sky about a mile from the bridge. Not a second had passed before the lightning came again, hitting the same spot. Again, again and again it struck, and Claire realised suddenly that the call had been cut off. She looked at her cell phone, tapped the screen... nothing. It had died. She shoved it into her pocket and began to jog down the street in the direction of her house, a confused frown etched across her face. Why were these freak storms happening all over the world? Why had her cell phone died when the battery had been fully charged that morning? And what did EMPs have to do with all this?

She stepped out into the road at the intersection and heard the squeal of tires. She turned just in time to see a Ford Mustang swerve dangerously and come to a screeching halt a couple of yards from where she stood. She remained rooted to the spot, her head swivelling from the car to the lightning still streaking down from the sky. It was close. The noises were getting louder. She looked back at the car and saw a boy inside it - the same boy she had seen on Ray Ferrier's lawn just half an hour earlier. She jogged up to the car and raised her voice above the sound of the storm.

"Are you Mr. Ferrier's son? Can you give me a ride home?"

The boy inside shook his head, turned the key in the ignition and looked back at her. He shook his head again, his expression confused and apologetic. He leaned over and opened the passenger door.

"I can't, I'm sorry. I don't what's going on. The tank was full..."

There was a sudden flash of lightning accompanied by a loud blast, much nearer now. Both teenagers ducked their heads instinctively.

"Jesus," the boy said, sliding out of the car. "I don't know what to do."

"I've got to get home," Claire said, looking back at the swirling clouds. "You coming?"

The boy looked at the car fretfully. Eventually he seemed to decide to leave it, and they both began to walk quickly in the direction of the bridge. Claire stayed silent, a thousand thoughts running through her head at once. Were these lightning strikes some kind of electromagnetic pulse? Was that what had stopped the phone and the car from working? She didn't think that was possible. Storms caused power cuts, which blew out the electricity lines, right? So how come it had affected batteries? She stole a glance at the boy. His face was partially hidden under a black baseball cap, but he looked just as anxious as she felt. She noticed dark, curling hair under the cap, and a pair of headphones around his neck. He was dressed warmly.

"Weird, huh?" she said, nodding towards the scene over the bridge. The lightning seemed to have died down, but the clouds were still whirling. It looked like a tornado forming. Claire had seen shows on television about twisters, and they always seemed to start with swirling clouds, just like this. She hoped to God that wasn't what was happening here, but what else could it be?

"Really weird," the boy agreed, thrusting his hands into his coat pockets.

"What's your name?" she asked, squinting up at the bridge. There were cars on it, but they weren't moving. People were standing at the railing, pointing up at sky.

"Robbie Ferrier. What's yours?"

"Claire. Claire Freidman. I live next to your dad."

"Lucky you," Robbie said, smirking. He had a really cute smile, she noticed. She didn't get the chance to notice much more about him, though, because they had reached Claire's street, and there were people milling about all around them. She saw cars in the middle of the road, stationary. Ray Ferrier appeared. He looked agitated and angry. Claire stuck around just long enough to hear him berate his son for taking off in the Ford, before she spotted her mother at the door to their house, beckoning her over frantically.

* * *

Sarah ushered Claire into the house, one hand on her daughter's arm, the other clutching her dead cell phone. She had been sitting on the couch when she'd phoned her daughter, and hadn't noticed the storm until Claire had told her to look out the window. Sarah had been astonished. Even with her limited amount of scientific knowledge, she knew that the wind never blew towards a storm, and that lightning was always accompanied by thunder. And wasn't there a saying that lightning never struck the same place twice? She had been frantic when the call was cut off. She had spent about ten minutes trying to replace the batteries in her phone, but when it hadn't worked she had given up, and decided to go out and find Claire herself. Fortunately she had spotted her daughter out on the street, with Ray Ferrier and his son.

"What were you doing out there with Ray?" Sarah asked, closing the door and locking it for good measure.

"I wasn't with _Ray_," Claire replied, running through the sitting room to stare out of the kitchen window. "I was with Robbie."

"Who's Robbie?" Sarah asked, coming to stand behind her daughter. But Claire didn't answer. They were both looking at the sky, which seemed to have returned to normal. The clouds had stopped swirling, but they could hear police sirens and shouts. Sarah put an arm around Claire and sighed heavily. "Don't worry, okay? It's just a bunch of freak storms caused by global warming. They said it would happen. The environmentalists."

"I don't know," Claire said. "I was looking on the Internet at this site about EMPs. Electromagnetic pulses. You think that's what's causing all the batteries to blow?"

"It could be," Sarah replied, although she wasn't sure how a storm could produce anything magnetic, much less anything that could blow out an entire town's batteries.

At least it's blowing over now, she thought, relieved. She turned away and began to pour herself a coffee. She expected they would have a full explanation of the events on the news the next morning.

Then, out of the blue, there came a loud explosion. Sarah spilt her coffee, and it ran down the cupboard door onto the floor. Her head snapped up. The blast had sounded close. Terrorists? She pushed her coffee aside and grabbed her jacket, which was hanging over a nearby chair. If a bomb had gone off, she wanted to know whether anyone close to her had been hurt. She knew her colleagues had been intending to go out for a drink in the city this evening. She had to find out what was going on. Perhaps it was related to the EMPs Claire had been talking about.

"Where are you going?" Claire asked, wringing her hands.

"I'll be back in thirty minutes, I promise," Sarah said, grabbing her keys. "Lock the door, okay? I'm just going to find out what's going on."

Claire followed her to the door. When Sarah had stepped out onto the sidewalk, Claire shut the door firmly. Sarah heard the lock click. Satisfied, she took off down the street at a run, heading for the intersection two blocks away.

* * *

When Robbie got to the house, Rachel was waiting for him at the foot of the stairs. He didn't take off his jacket; he just sat next to her and stared out at the street.

He was still slightly shaken after the car incident, and was also angry at being scolded by Ray. Robbie had taken the car impulsively, without really thinking about the consequences. He had been so angry after the baseball game in the yard that he had wanted to get back at his father somehow. Taking Ray's prized Mustang out for a joy ride had seemed like the perfect revenge. He hadn't counted on getting stranded in Main Street, however. The car had died right there in the road. He had been so surprised that he had almost run over the dark-haired girl - Claire, wasn't it?

He didn't think she went to his school. He would have noticed someone that pretty long ago, or his friends would have pointed her out. She was different from the girls in his classes. They didn't chew gum because they were all health freaks, and they all lived in city apartments or the suburbs. The girls he knew all had long hair, with blonde streaks and dyed roots and God knew what else. Claire's hair was dark and short, and she was poor, and she chewed gum. It was refreshing.

"Where is he?" Rachel said, interrupting Robbie's thoughts.

"Gone," the teenager replied. "I don't know. He took off somewhere, probably to get the car."

"Where's the car?"

"Main Street," Robbie said, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He and Rachel had spent most of the day helping their mother and Tim pack for Boston. Then they had piled into the car and driven into the city. It had been a long day, and Robbie was getting weary.

"Main Street?" Rachel repeated. "Why is it there?"

Any other brother would have become annoyed at her constant questions, but the two siblings shared a close bond, and Robbie simply shrugged.

"It just died," he said. "It stopped working. They all did."

Rachel fell silent. After a moment, they both jumped as something exploded loudly a couple of blocks away. They heard people shouting and yelling. Robbie stood up.

"Dad's out there," Rachel said after a minute or two, her eyes wide and fearful.

"I know," Robbie replied, watching a blonde woman run past the door. It looked like she was heading in the direction of the noise.

"Come on," he said, turning to hoist his sister to her feet. "We're going to get something to eat, okay? Ray'll be back soon. Then we can think about contacting mom and Tim."

"Okay," Rachel said quietly, but Robbie could see that she was feeling far from okay. Brotherly instinct took over, and he picked her up, hugging her tightly. He carried her into the kitchen, where he set about making them both sandwiches. He gritted his teeth as he opened the refrigerator, trying to ignore the explosions issuing from across the river.

I hope Ray's okay, he thought, despite himself.


	3. Putting Differences Aside

**Chapter Three  
**_Putting Differences Aside_

Sarah ran quickly over the pedestrian footbridge that crossed the river and skirted a couple of motionless cars. People were wandering about looking lost and confused, pointing up at the sky and talking in loud, agitated voices. As Sarah jogged away from the bridge and towards the intersection at the end of the street, she glanced up at the overcast sky, shielding her eyes against the bitter wind. The clouds had stopped swirling, but they were still an ominous shade of charcoal grey. The lightning had come down somewhere in this area, and the explosion they had heard had seemed to come from this part of town, too. There was a crowd of people at the intersection; she estimated that the storm had been right over this spot. Sticking her hands into her pockets, she walked briskly towards the group, making sure to check the café windows she passed for signs of her colleagues. She couldn't see anybody she knew.

She passed a blackened car, and heard a snatched conversation about a failed attempt to repair the vehicle. Parts of the car were still on fire, but it didn't look like anyone had been hurt. She deduced that the car had probably exploded. That was what she and Claire had heard from their kitchen. So far, so good, she thought. It looked like they would come through the storm unscathed.

When she reached the intersection, she heard a couple of people talking about a hole in the ground. Several people were still complaining about their cars, and a few were calling out for their friends and family. She approached the crowd and tried to see over the shoulder of the man in front, but he was too tall.

"What's going on?" she asked, stepping closer and peering though the throng. The man turned his head, and she caught a glimpse of dull green eyes, brown hair, and a handsome profile. She leaned back, recognising him immediately. It was Ray Ferrier.

"Ms. Freidman," he said, looking slightly taken aback. She opened her mouth to correct him, before realising with a slight pang of disappointment that he had used the correct title. I wouldn't have expected him to remember, she thought, taking her hands out of her pockets and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. It was a nervous habit she had.

"Ray," she replied flatly, not smiling. "Do you know what's happening?"

"No, I don't," he said, looking back at the crowd. A second later he moved forward, apologising under his breath as he pushed past the people. Sarah followed him, her eyes trained on the spot everyone seemed to be looking at. She moved past the last person and saw a flat space of concrete with a fairly large hole in it. The edges of the hole were smoking, and it looked deep. She heard a low murmur of puzzled conversation all around. A police officer was standing opposite her, on the other side of the circle. He bent down to look closely at the rocks, and Ray did the same. Sarah folded her arms and watched, frowning in confusion as the officer shook his head.

"I can't explain it," he said, lifting his face and squinting up at the sky. "It's like something went down there."

"The lightning," Sarah said. "The lightning made the hole."

"Then why are the rocks freezing?" came Ray's voice. She crouched down next to him, and a couple of other people bent over to get a closer look. Ray was holding a fragment of concrete in one hand. After a second or two he dropped it, obviously unable to hold it any longer due to its temperature.

Sarah's thoughts whirled. How could a spot that had just been hit by lightning be _cold_? The officer had been right - it was inexplicable.

It wasn't long before they all heard a rumbling noise coming from deep below them. Sarah stared down at the road in nervous apprehension, and a few people took steps back. It was the subway, she thought. It was just a train. But the officer put an end to that possibility straight away. There was no subway here, he said. There were no pipes, either. Apparently there was nothing there that could be causing the noise. Sarah was forced to conclude that something had indeed gone down there during the storm. Or perhaps there had been something down there all along that nobody knew about. What was it, though?

Ray stood up and put out a hand. Sarah looked down, surprised to see that he was holding onto her arm.

"You feel that?" he said, his voice almost a whisper.

After a moment she felt it. A slight shaking sensation that grew steadily as the seconds passed. It was like the beginning of an earthquake. The concrete beneath their feet began to crack, and Sarah leaped backwards, Ray stumbling after her. People began to run as the road split open, fractures appearing in the rock in the same way that the ice on a frozen lake would break if it was stepped on. The concrete was thrust onto the road's surface, and something huge began to push up from under the ground. Sarah backed away as fast as she could manage, still keeping her eyes trained on the hole.

Then the buildings began to collapse. Sarah's head whirled this way and that, and she soon realised she had lost sight of Ray. People were running to and fro, shouting, yelling and screaming. Cracks were appearing in the church across the street. The whole side of the building broke off, and the bell tower crashed down onto the intersection, crushing a couple of people who hadn't managed to get out of the way. Sarah's legs gave way due to the shock, and she put out two hands to steady herself. Crouching there on the concrete, she got her first look at the object that was coming out of the ground.

It was tall; that much was obvious. At first she thought it was twenty feet, but as it straightened up it became clear that it was closer to fifty. It had three legs on which it walked; it was a kind of tripod. It was like some sort of living creature, although it was made from metal and had lights on its body. It was a truly terrifying sight, but the worst was yet to come. Sarah began to struggle to her feet, to try and get away from the machine, but her progress was hampered by the continuous collapse of the concrete and buildings around her. She stumbled, looked up, and saw a beam of pinkish light sweep past her. Her eyes followed it, and she saw it strike a man. The man was instantly vaporised. Sarah screamed.

"Come _on_!" came a voice in her ear, and she turned to see Ray pulling at her jacket. She screamed again, her vision filled with the image of the man turning to dust, but somehow she managed to move her legs, and she sprinted after Ray in the direction of the footbridge.

Sarah took lightning-quick glances behind her as she ran. She saw that the tripod was moving off to the east, killing as it went. Her breath was coming in fast gulps as she followed Ray over the bridge and into their street. She did not bother to ask him if he was all right, or thank him for grabbing her when the tripod had started vaporising everything in sight; she simply ran past him to her house, wrenched open the door, slammed it behind her, and collapsed.

* * *

Claire's head darted up at the sound of the door opening. She jumped off the couch and ventured into the hallway, where she saw her mother sitting on the carpet, leaning heavily against the wall. Sarah was covered in a fine, white dust. Claire crouched down tentatively next to her, wondering what had happened. Her mom had been gone around twenty minutes. In that time, Claire had heard the sounds of mass destruction and screaming from across the river. She had huddled into a ball on the couch, fiddling with the dials on the radio. She had not been able to get any signal.

"Mom?"

Sarah blinked and looked up. Her eyes widened, and she pulled Claire into a fierce hug.

"Claire, are you all right? Did anything - has anything --"

She broke off, releasing her daughter. Her eyes searched Claire's face intensely.

"I'm fine, mom," Claire said shakily. "But what happened to you?"

Sarah's gaze took on a distant quality. She seemed to be reliving something. Going by the expression on her mother's face, Claire assumed it was something unpleasant. Sarah did not speak for a moment or two, and Claire was left to wonder what had happened over on the other side of the river. Had there been bombs? The explosion had given that impression, but Claire hadn't heard any more blasts; just odd metallic noises, the sounds of large-scale destruction, and a lot of yelling. Maybe there had been an earthquake.

"No, nothing," Sarah said heavily, getting to her feet. "Nothing, honey. I'll tell you... I'll tell you later. Right now we have to leave, okay?"

"Leave?" Claire repeated, her brows knotted in confusion.

"Get a bag, all right? Get some clothes, some food from the refrigerator --"

"Mom," Claire said, her voice growing louder, more high-pitched. "Tell me what's going on!"

But Sarah wasn't listening. She was pulling things out of the cupboards with one hand, and brushing the dust out of her hair with the other. She looked scared, frantic. A heavy feeling of dread had settled in Claire's stomach, but she complied with her mother, grabbing packets of cookies and chips off the shelves and stuffing them into bags.

"Mom," she said suddenly, her arms full of supplies. "There are no cars. The cars aren't working. How are we going to carry all this stuff?"

Sarah paused, her hand halfway to the refrigerator handle. She let out a frustrated breath and grabbed a large plastic bag, holding it open. "Okay, quick. Put it all in here. We'll... we'll put another couple of bags around it. It should hold."

Claire emptied the supplies into the bag, then took it from Sarah and dropped it into a second bag. She slung it over her shoulder and grabbed her jacket. Meanwhile, Sarah was rooting around in a drawer in the sitting room. She brought out a flashlight and a couple of batteries, then stopped, looking down at them in disgust. She then turned and threw them across the room. The action made Claire jump.

"Mom?" she said, her eyes wide.

"Batteries aren't working," Sarah muttered, sounding slightly apologetic.

Suddenly there was a very loud noise somewhere nearby. Claire thought it sounded like a ship's horn, except longer, deeper, and somehow more ominous. Sarah dropped down to the carpet and signalled for Claire to do the same. A rose-coloured light swept past the sitting room window, and as it hit the house opposite them the brickwork exploded outwards, sending rubble flying in all directions. Claire was on the kitchen floor - she could see everything that was happening out on the road. She saw the light sweep towards the sitting room window, and screamed. Sarah managed to roll out of the way just as the front wall of the house collapsed. She scrambled to her feet, grabbed Claire by the arm, and sprinted out into the back yard. They backed away to the end of the lawn, watching their house fall into ruins. Claire lifted her gaze slowly, and was faced with the most extraordinary sight she had ever experienced. Standing over the street, on three legs, was a gigantic machine. It had an odd-shaped body. It looked like something from outer space. After a second or two the machine swivelled towards them and shot a red ray at the bridge, sending cars and lorries into the river. At that moment, there was no doubt in Claire's mind that these things _were_ from outer space.

She did not have time to think. A car hurtled past them and destroyed what was left of their house. Claire felt Sarah grab her arm. The two of them ran over the footbridge and off down the street. They took care to avoid the tripods, hurtling down back alleys and side roads where possible. All the while, Claire was taking fleeting glances upwards. The machines moved above them, their pinkish beams sweeping through the city without hindrance.

As they ran, Claire felt tears seep from her eyes and run down her face. Her hands were clenched into fists, and she was shaking violently. She was running like she'd never run before. Why couldn't she run like this in the school marathons? The thought was fleeting, and the tears came faster as she realised that her school had probably been decimated.

"Mom," she choked as they reached the highway. "Where are we going to go?"

Sarah looked back at her daughter. She had smudges of dirt on her cheeks. "North," she said. "Away from the city."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Just wanted to say thank you to Madam Marvel for the review!


	4. An Unexpected Meeting

**Chapter Four  
**_An Unexpected Meeting_

Ray clutched the steering wheel of the minivan tightly, his expression a mixture of determination and shock. For the last fifteen minutes, his mind had not stopped going over the events that had taken place at the intersection.

He had stolen a repaired minivan back in the city, and he, Robbie and Rachel were now making their way down the highway. It was around six or seven o'clock in the evening, and the October sky was beginning to grow dark. He thought they probably had the only working vehicle for miles. There were cars stranded at the side of the road, and people were walking in groups out of the city. He saw a couple point to the van and try to flag it down, but Ray only pressed his foot harder onto the accelerator. They sped down the highway towards the suburbs, in the direction of Mary-Anne's house. He hoped his ex-wife and Tim had not left for Boston yet. He didn't particularly want to see either of them, Tim especially, but it would make things a whole lot easier if he had someone else to help him take care of Robbie and Rachel.

Thankfully, Rachel had stopped screaming. They had been chased out of the city centre by the machines, although neither of the kids had seen one properly yet. Ray hoped they would never have to. At least they were leaving Newark behind, he thought. He doubted the machines would venture out to the suburbs, and if they did, the chances they would stumble across Mary-Anne's house were small. Keeping this comforting thought in mind, he skirted a line of motionless cars and turned off the highway into his ex-wife's road. The houses were dark and silent; nothing was moving.

Rachel bobbed up and down as the car pulled into a driveway at the end of the street. Even before they had come to a halt, the car doors were open and the two kids were running over the lawn towards the house. Ray saw lights on in the ground floor rooms, and felt a wave of relief wash over him. He locked the car, stowed the keys in his pocket, and jogged up to the porch. He could hear Rachel and Robbie shouting for their mother and Tim, but they didn't seem to be getting an answer. A sinking feeling replaced the sensation of relief as Ray stepped into the house. Mary-Anne wasn't here; neither was Tim. What had happened to them?

"Is she dead?" Rachel asked bluntly, standing halfway up the staircase.

Ray shook his head and beckoned to her. "No, Rachel, she's not dead. They must have left for Boston already."

She jumped down into the hall and he shepherded her into the kitchen. Robbie followed, looking worried. Ray figured he would get them something to eat, and then they would stay the night here. If Mary-Anne and Tim didn't show up in the morning, the three of them would head on to Boston. He expected his ex-wife was worried about the kids. She was probably regretting leaving them in Ray's hands. He felt a stab of anger as he glanced at a framed photograph of the happy family on the kitchen windowsill.

He would show her he was a capable father. He would get them to Boston no matter what.

* * *

They had walked well into the evening. The plastic bags Sarah was carrying felt like lead weights, and her eyelids were beginning to droop closed. She and Claire were trudging down the highway in the gathering darkness, surrounded by a host of other families that obviously shared her sentiments about feeling safer outside the city. Everybody was huddled together in groups, moving slowly down the road with their supplies and clothing. At some point during their journey they had seen a car zoom past, an event that had caused several minutes of fevered excitement as people attempted to start the vehicles standing at the side of the road. But the power was still out, and Sarah was left to dwell on how the owners of the car had managed to get it running.

Approximately an hour and a half had passed since they had left Newark. Claire had asked a multitude of questions about the alien machines for the first fifteen minutes or so of the journey, and Sarah had done her best to answer them, but both women were now silent and gloomy. The street lamps were not working, so the only light came from the moon, which was almost full. It bathed the road in a silver glow and cast a pale light on the street signs they passed.

Sarah was just beginning to think about stopping for the night, when Claire gave a sudden gasp.

"Mom, look," she exclaimed, pointing to a road that curved away from the highway and led to the suburbs. It looked vaguely familiar to Sarah, but she couldn't recall why. Claire jogged up onto the sidewalk and turned to her mother, beckoning. "It's Madison's street, mom," she said. "We should go see if she's there."

Sarah peered up the dark road. She had driven down here countless times, ferrying Claire and her friend back and forth between houses. How could she not have recognised it? She nodded and followed her daughter down the sidewalk, shifting the weight of the bags from shoulder to shoulder restlessly. Perhaps Madison's mother would allow them to stay the night, if the family was at home.

The house looked dark and uninviting. Claire trotted up the driveway, and Sarah followed her, glancing at the large house next door. It had lights burning in almost all of its windows. She could see shadowy figures moving around inside. Walking past it, she stepped up to Madison's house, where she found Claire banging on the sitting room window and calling her friend's name.

"It doesn't look like they're here, honey," Sarah said, peering through the glass in the front door. The hallway was black; she could barely see the outlines of the furniture.

"Maybe they're in their basement," Claire suggested, continuing to knock loudly. "Hey," she called, staring in through the window. "Madison? Madison, are you there?"

There was no answer.

"Quiet, Claire," Sarah said softly, moving around the house in the direction of the back yard. "We don't want to draw too much attention to ourselves."

She looked over the fence into the yard. There was an empty dog kennel on the lawn, and a trashcan had been knocked over. Everything else seemed perfectly normal. It looked like Madison and her family had simply packed up and left, like most other people in the street. But there was that house next door, Sarah thought, with all its lights on. As she jogged back to stand by her daughter, she saw a figure pass the sitting room window fleetingly. The lace curtains covering the glass fluttered.

"Come on," Claire said, taking off over the grass towards the front door of the occupied house.

"Claire, wait," Sarah called, running after her daughter. "We can't just barge in on them at this time of day --"

But Claire had already knocked loudly on the door.

A shrill voice immediately issued from within the house. It sounded like a young girl. "Mom!" the voice called, and Sarah heard footsteps thumping down the hall. "Mom, Tim!"

The door was flung open, and Sarah's eyes widened in shock. Standing in the doorway was a mousy-haired girl wearing a skirt and pullover. But behind her, wearing a dusty brown jacket and an expression that exactly mirrored Sarah's, was Ray Ferrier.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you to everybody who has reviewed. I am aware this is a short chapter, so to compensate there is another one coming very soon!


	5. Into The Basement

**Chapter Five  
**_Into The Basement_

"Robbie?" came a familiar voice.

Robbie descended the stairs two at a time, jumping down into the hallway with a soft thud. He was abruptly faced with the sight of Claire Freidman and her mother standing in the porch. They both looked extremely tired. He adjusted his baseball cap and tried not to gape at them. When he had heard the knock at the door, he had been fully expecting to see his mother and Tim on the doorstep, and he felt a pang of disappointment as he realised that he and Rachel were still stuck with Ray. His spirits lifted slightly at the expression on Claire's face, however. She was looking at him with a grin of recognition.

"Claire," he said in greeting, stepping up behind Rachel. His younger sister looked slightly morose. She had obviously been expecting the visitors to be their mother and Tim, too. Robbie placed a hand on her shoulder and glanced up at his dad, noticing the mixture of pure astonishment and slight confusion on Ray's face. Robbie met Claire's gaze again, wondering how they had ended up here, of all places.

"Uh... hi," Sarah said, dropping the bags she was carrying at her feet. "This... I mean... I did _not_ expect to find you here." She gave a hesitant laugh, and shook her head. "We were just next door, at Claire's friend Madison's house. They aren't at home, though."

"We saw your lights and thought we'd see who lived here," Claire added.

Sarah blinked. "Well, _you_ thought we would, Claire." She shot Ray an apologetic glance. "I tried to stop her."

"That's... that's okay," he replied, still looking a little shell-shocked. "Uh... this is my ex-wife Mary-Anne's house. The kids live here." His expression became guarded, and he did not say any more.

Robbie looked back at the two women and gently pulled Rachel to one side. "Do you guys have anywhere to stay the night?" he asked, giving Ray a lightning-quick glance. He hoped his dad wouldn't refuse them shelter. With those machines on the loose it would be dangerous to sleep out in the open, and he didn't want Claire to come to any harm. She was the only person his age he'd seen for days, and even though they had only spoken for a couple of minutes so far, he had immediately liked her. Sarah seemed like a nice enough person, too, and was pretty attractive for an older woman. He was surprised Ray hadn't tried it on with her yet. They had to have been living next door to each for over a year. But then again, thought Robbie, almost every woman on the planet seemed to have some kind of problem with Ray. The man was an asshole. Everyone said so.

"Well, Madison's door was locked," Claire said, "otherwise we could have stayed there." She looked at Ray hopefully.

Robbie was surprised when his dad pulled the door open a fraction more, and stepped to the side. "Come inside," he said, giving the street outside a dark look. "It's pretty safe out here, I think, but it's best to stay together."

"Thank you," Sarah said, offering him a genuine smile. Robbie and Rachel retreated into the sitting room with Claire, leaving Ray and Sarah out in the hall. Robbie knew the adults probably wanted to discuss their situation, and did not want Rachel overhearing and getting scared. Ray gave his son a grateful look as he shut the sitting room door, and immediately Sarah's hushed voice issued from behind it, her words muffled and incomprehensible.

Robbie turned to look at Claire, who was in the process of introducing herself to Rachel. The girl was still wearing the jacket she'd had on that afternoon, when Robbie had almost run her over in his dad's car. She had exchanged her sneakers for sturdy boots, however, and her short hair was tied back into a ponytail.

"Gum?" she said, offering both the Ferriers a piece. Robbie took one, but Rachel declined solemnly, saying that it would ruin her teeth. Claire looked at Robbie and suppressed a smile. "I think it's sugarless," she said, checking the packet, but Rachel just shook her head. The younger girl then wandered over to the window and pulled back the curtains, staring out at the empty road. Robbie could tell she was keeping watch for their mother.

Claire had taken a seat on the couch, and Robbie flopped down next to her. "She's going through a bit of a health freak phase," he explained, taking off his baseball cap and chucking it onto the coffee table. "Today Ray told her to get her own dinner, and she ordered hummus."

Claire laughed. It was a pleasant sound; nothing like the loud cackles of the girls in his class.

"What school do you go to?" he asked, with the intention of striking up a conversation with her. Robbie had never really been shy around females, and he definitely wanted to get to know Claire better. She seemed like an interesting, easy-going person, just like him. It was almost as though they matched. In any other situation, he would have considered coming on to her... but he felt it would be a little tactless in these circumstances. People were dying out there.

Besides, he thought, she probably had a boyfriend.

* * *

"I'm sorry," Sarah said, as soon as the kids disappeared behind the sitting room door. "This is really awkward. I tried to stop Claire disturbing you, but she was too fast."

"It's no problem," Ray replied, running his hands through his hair. He shot her a tight smile. "The kids will be glad to have some company, trust me."

Sarah sighed tiredly and turned to pick up her bags. She brought them into the hall, placing them on the staircase temporarily. "Well, if you're sure it's okay," she said. "I guess it's better to stay in a group. Safety in numbers, right?"

Ray made a noncommittal noise. He seemed rather preoccupied, but it was understandable. The emergence of the machines seemed to have left everyone somewhat numb. To be truthful, Sarah was infinitely glad that they had run into the Ferriers. She wouldn't admit it to Ray, but she was scared. She was sure Claire was too, underneath her cheerful exterior. Of course, Sarah still hadn't fully digested the fact that alien invaders were attacking the planet. She was still holding on to the hope that the enemies were terrorists. A voice in the back of her mind told her that she was in denial, but so far she had been able to ignore it fairly successfully.

Despite the fact that she was glad to be with people she knew, there was still the issue of Ray himself. After he had helped her back at the intersection, she had been forced to reconsider her view of him as an asshole. She supposed he wasn't all that bad. If he started acting like he had done in the yard that afternoon, though, she wasn't sure she would be able to keep her temper in check.

"Are you hungry?" Ray said, interrupting her train of thought. Sarah tried to recall when she and Claire had last eaten. The incident at the intersection had happened before dinner, so that meant neither of them had had anything to eat since lunch. As though it had heard Ray, Sarah's stomach rumbled slightly.

"Sure," she replied, "if it isn't too much trouble. Will your ex-wife mind?"

"I doubt it," he said, moving towards the kitchen. Sarah followed him, wondering whether the family had any eggs in the refrigerator. She could easily cook omelettes for the five of them.

The omelette idea went down well. Sarah and Ray wolfed theirs down in the kitchen, while the kids ate in the sitting room. The television was working, but the news broadcasts were intermittent and vague. An hour later, Ray switched the set off and flicked off the ground floor lights.

"We'll sleep in the basement," he said, and there was a hint of finality in his tone that said, 'no arguments'. Sarah was a little surprised - she did not think the machines would find their way out into the suburbs - but she could see that it was a sensible decision. If the attackers did come upon this particular street, the five humans were sure to be safe below the ground. She hoped they would be, at least.

They trooped down into the basement clutching pillows and bedcovers. Sarah was impressed at the size of the place; there was even a mini-gym at the back of the room. Ray looked a little chagrined as he spotted the expensive fitness equipment, and he seemed to throw himself into the armchair under the stairs a little too violently. Robbie, Claire and Rachel settled down on the other side of the partition, making a sort of nest with the bedding. Sarah was left standing by the staircase grasping a small pillow, searching for somewhere to sleep.

Ray noticed her after a moment, and stood up hesitantly. "Take the chair, Sarah," he said, gesturing to it. "I'll get one from the kitchen."

She walked over, one eyebrow quirked. The kitchen chairs were comfortable enough to sit in, but not to sleep in. She flopped down into the armchair, scooting up to one side of it. "Thanks," she said. "There's room for two on here, though. You can't sleep in a kitchen chair; it would be an absolute nightmare."

Ray hovered indecisively for a moment, evidently torn between having to put himself in close proximity to Sarah and having to spend the night sleeping on a spindly wooden chair, or the floor. Eventually he chose the former option. He sat down gingerly next to her, reaching back to adjust the cushions behind him. Sarah kicked her shoes off and drew her knees up to rest against the arm of the chair. She hugged the pillow to her chest and tried to relax, feeling Ray shift awkwardly next to her. She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the fact that her back was pressed up against his left arm. After several long minutes, exhaustion overcame her, and she drifted into a deep sleep.


End file.
